


Lethe

by Cosmogonika



Series: Cosmo's Mini-Fics Series [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Hades and Persephone, Kylo is such a sexy Hades don't blame me, Modern AU, Reincarnation, Rey is clueless, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27268513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmogonika/pseuds/Cosmogonika
Summary: Audrey Floresce Niima, aka "Rey" is summoned by Tartarus Corp's big boss, Kylo Ren, after a unfortunate accident at her new job.Hades and Persephone Modern AU.Lethe - from the Greek Λήθη, the river of forgetfulness in the Hades, from which the Souls drank to forget their lives and reincarnate.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Series: Cosmo's Mini-Fics Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991032
Comments: 63
Kudos: 225





	Lethe

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my darlings!
> 
> No, I haven't disappeared (totally) from the fandom. But this year has been insane for me, between motherhood, nursing, work, social unrest, pandemic and fucking elections (cough,cough), I feel I aged 10 years in 1! 
> 
> I have been siting on starting a Mini-Fics Series for a while and since it's been really hard to finish my other fic, Dystopia, I needed a sort of creativity boost. Dystopian readers, have no fear: I will finish the fic! I hope that this will help me get my (fried) brain going on again. It truly needs some WD-40. 
> 
> About these Mini-Fic Series: as you know, I'm a massive long-fic writer. I wanted to take the challenge to write very condensed fics and do world building in the less amount of words as possible. The idea is to write on very different AUs and topics...I have a few in store, so keep posted! 
> 
> Some will have smut and some others will not. But what I can guarantee is that it will always be hot! 
> 
> This is a Hades and Persephone AU. I adore this trope and always wanted to write something for it. 
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy!

Hands joined together before her pristine white lab coat, Audrey Floresce Niima – everybody called her ‘Rey’ since she shone like the sunlight – stood behind the elevator operator taking her to the CEO’s private office, located on the top floor of the modern-style Tartarus Corporate building.

Her mother, Ceres, had strongly prevented her to apply for her current position as Plant Genetist in such a place, since the Corp’s reputation, and especially that of its owner, was very poor. People spoke of illegal genetic experiments and weird things were rumored to have happened. But Rey couldn’t resist the offer she saw in the _First Order Post_ , the city’s newspaper – it matched her profile perfectly and the salary was A+. She would be able to save and free herself of the terrible debt left by her late father. And, how bad could Kylo Ren truly be? Surely, his reputation was only a big bunch of gossips. She was a nobody, there was no way Tartarus’ big boss would ever pay attention to someone like _her_.

I mean, was Kylo Ren even real, anyway?

Well, it turns out she’d gotten the answer pretty quickly.

Her mind flashed back to the only time she had seen him, during the interviewing process. When the door had unexpectedly opened during the meeting, the air had been strangely sucked out and the person solely responsible for the lack of oxygen was the tall black hole of a man standing haughtily before her. Clad entirely in a black three-piece suit, with ebony hair and eyes of charcoals, he was Darkness fleshed into a man.

Yep, he was _real_ alright.

A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the encounter.

His gaze had roamed hungrily over her features and she had been powerless, first, to tear her eyes from his intense scrutiny, and second, to prevent her cheeks from powdering a deep shade of pink. Only three words had dripped from his rich, pomegranate lips – the fleshy color confirming he _actually_ belonged to the human race instead of the dead – and his baritone voice had frozen her on her chair: “She’s the one.”

Since then, her big boss had been as invisible as thin air, until this sunny Tuesday morning, when she received the news she was summoned to his office – _now_.

She watched the elevator numbers go up toward the last floor. How strange that _The Shade_ – it was Kylo Ren’s nick within the firm – had chosen to work in such heights. In her mind, Ren belonged to the _underworld_.

She would be lying if she said she didn’t dread the meeting. And she had _reasons_ to fear it. The day before, she had been utterly unable to control herself – but, _alas_ , she didn’t want to dwell too much on that, and instead, focused on keeping her mind in check. It was nothing she couldn’t cover with a witty lie, right?

The elevator opened to a massive reddish-brown mahogany door, framed with golden patterns. On both sides, two small but high tables made of the same wood displayed round, thick red burning candles.

_Candles_.

_How peculiar,_ she thought. Her brow creased questioningly as she took a step outside the lift and glanced hesitantly at the elevator operator, who kindly suggested she knock on the door, before leaving in a hurry.

Left alone, her throat worked. Surely, these were the gates of _hell_.

Fiddling with her hair and mustering her courage, she brushed the door with her fingers, almost imperceptibly.

A couple of seconds went by and, really, there was no one, she _should_ call the elevator back –

“Come in,” said a deep voice within, making the small hairs on her neck spike.

As if summoned by magic, the door opened slowly, revealing a vast, dimly-lit room – and her lips parted in awe –

– it was a constellation of candles.

Small one, big ones, candles, _everywhere._

She barely registered the bookshelves, the gold-framed paintings on the walls, the tiny small plants in pots, and the elegant, imposing desk – she was transfixed by the insane amount of small lights, creating the illusion of daylight although there were no windows in the room.

“Not what you expected, Miss Floresce?” 

On the other end of the office, a black leather chair turned around, revealing Kylo Ren’s pale face. A ghost of a grin danced at the corner of his lips as he gestured for her to come closer with two fingers. 

The gesture gave her goosebumps. Obliging, she almost forgot the question he asked. Distantly, she wondered if offending the CEO on her second week meant being fired on the spot. “I-I mean, no, I didn’t expect so many candles – _Sir_.”

The way he stirred uncomfortably was not lost on her, but she chose to ignore it. Instead, she analyzed how his unusual features shone in the candlelight. His ashen face was strangely asymmetrical, but she found it handsome, although sad, lonely, and melancholic. Had this man ever known joy in his life?

“Do you know why I summoned you here?” he inquired again in his deep bass.

She shifted her weight on her other leg and brushed her lab coat with her palms, remembering why she was here. “I have no idea, sir,” she lied.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Really. I expected you to be – _sharper_ , Miss Floresce.” He paused, as if giving her the time to reply; however, he cut her off before she could form a response. “ _Especially_ when a full _tree_ appeared out of nowhere in your office yesterday and ripped through the ceiling of the tenth floor.”

She gulped. _Audibly_.

_Think of something. Anything_ , her mind raced. She cleared her throat and put on her best poker face. “Well, I-it was a specimen I was experimenting upon, sir, a rare type of transgenetic –” 

Unexpectedly, he rose to his full height, and _God_ , why did he have to be some rare species of a human sequoia? His eyes never leaving her stunned gaze, he circled the desk and came to lean back against it, hands resting on both sides of the wooden surface.

That’s where she noticed the black leather gloves.

_Gloves_. In the middle of _summer_.

What the living hell?

He took a small step toward her, and she hated how it forced her chin up to look at him.

"I didn't expect you to be a blatant liar," he said scornfully. Disappointment washed over his dark features. "Or have you truly no idea of who you are?"

There was the most unexpected glimmer of hope in those words.

She stared at him. Of course, she had strange abilities, which some would consider… unnatural. “Wh-what do you mean?” She hated how her voice sounded weak. 

Did she imagine it, or did his charcoal irises begin to spark?

The next thing she knew, Kylo Ren, CEO of Tartarus Corp, one of the most powerful men on the surface of the goddamn planet Earth, bridged the gap between them, and the next second, he was pressing his _lips_ against hers. Cherry on the top, he was begging for entrance with a low growl in the back of his throat, while one of his hands slid around her waist, pulling her possessively against him. 

But there was worse. Why did this feel so... _familiar_? Why, when everything about this was _wrong_ and she should have stopped him at that very moment, did she decide on the exact opposite? She didn’t attempt to fight the feeling; in fact, it felt so _right_ to let him in.

The minute she did, he tilted his head, and his tongue rolled against the ceiling of her mouth, feasting on her almost desperately. She responded with the same eagerness, her lips danced with his in a wet passion, opening and closing with delight. His hand slid down her lower back to her bottom and he squeezed gently, while she locked her arms around his broadness, feeling his muscular frame. She melted into his embrace, his ministrations igniting an unbidden pool of heat down south. God, he felt good – _too_ good, his scent a mixture of conditioner, leather, candlewax, and red fruits– and, as a forbidden one, she couldn't help kissing him back, licking the seam of his lower lip and whimpering under his ardor.

When he broke the kiss – the spell was removed and she came back to her wits with a gasp. Her eyelashes flashed open. She saw him glance to the side – and _smirk._

Audrey followed his gaze, only for her breath to hitch.

The burgeoning plants she had noticed upon entering his office had spread into full-grown vines, covering the walls, crawling between the candles and bookshelves. The entire room looked like a _jungle_.

Kylo looked back at her; his eyes had turned a deep shade of green and amber as he plunged into her hazel ones.

“It _is_ you…”

She shook her head. “I-I don’t get it, I mean, I know I have this strange thing but –”

“Audrey, you are the reincarnation of an old goddess by the name of Persephone.”

Her eyes rounded as if she’d seen a flying saucer. “That’s _impossible_.”

His face hardened, his brow creased as if disturbed by her lack of faith. “Yet it is true. Look around you. You hold the power of Spring.”

Something inside her, which had always been there, clicked. Like finding the long, lost missing piece of a puzzle.

However, goosebumps broke out on her arms at the implications. “But-but that means…you – _you_ –” She gaped at him, the realization stunning her into silence, preventing her to finish the sentence.

“Your feelings serve you right,” he said, proudly. “I am Hades, The Shade. The harvester of Souls.” His baritone voice made her shiver. “Each candle you see here is a Soul that has passed to the spiritual world, which is not an _underworld_ , but a world above us. Thus, why I inhabit these heights.” She blinked a couple of times, feeling how his hand closed tighter around her body, as if he would never let her go. Instinctively, she grabbed his black shirt, before he continued, mesmerized.

“And _you_ , Audrey, are my _Promised One_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Dear reader, I'm kind of (very) intrigued of what you are thinking! Please leave me a comment if you liked this idea and want me to continue with other mini-stories. ❤️
> 
> What I have in store:  
> A Harry Potter AU featuring Minister of Magic Rey and ex-Auror Kylo Ren turned dark.  
> A Parisian Revolution AU (hey, I'm French, I gotta do this one!)  
> And then...I'll see where the inspiration brings me. 
> 
> And YES, I think I will take prompts if an idea lights a spark! ✨  
> So come and talk to me on [Tumblr](http://cosmo-gonika.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Cosmogonika/)


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